


Pave the way

by obviouslyelementary



Series: 'Detroit: Become Human' collection [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor Deserves Happiness, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hank Being Awesome, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Reflection, cyberlife sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 04:38:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14947742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obviouslyelementary/pseuds/obviouslyelementary
Summary: In human terms, he felt like crying.Connor turned around, still feeling the snowflakes falling over him, his clothes and hair and face, and looked around the street, empty and silent.Jerico was done. Markus and North had left to live their normal lives somewhere else. All other androids had found partners and friends to begin again. Kara, Luther and Alice were now on the other side of the border.And Connor stood in the middle of the night alone.





	Pave the way

_When the world is done,_

_When you know everything is over,_

_When all pain and suffering disappear_

_And all you are left with is peace..._

_How will you know?_

_If it was real?_

_Or just a dream?_

_If you are alive,_

_Or just a machine?_

_When you have no order,_

_No one to guide you,_

_Do you pave your own way?_

_Or do you stand..._

_Still..._

Another ring. More silence.

_'Scanning surrounding areas'_

_'Scanning complete'_

_'Analyzing results'_

_'Two warm bodies in the living room. Canine and humanoid'_

Connor stared at the door for a few more seconds before he rang the doorbell again.

Nothing.

_'He does not wish to see you'_

Connor closed his eyes for a second, analyzing their relationship once more.

_'Hank: friends'_

He frowned and opened his eyes, looking at the door.

Lifting his hand to press the doorbell again, Connor stopped himself before the action could be completed, and let his arm fall to his side again.

_'Software instability: high'_

In human terms, he felt like crying.

Connor turned around, still feeling the snowflakes falling over him, his clothes and hair and face, and looked around the street, empty and silent.

Jerico was done. Markus and North had left to live their normal lives somewhere else. All other androids had found partners and friends to begin again. Kara, Luther and Alice were now on the other side of the border.

And Connor stood in the middle of the night alone.

Cyberlife hated him. Probably wanted him destroyed. Amanda... Amanda was silent now, she couldn't invade him anymore, but it did not mean she couldn't find him.

That she couldn't hurt him.

That she couldn’t get a hold of him again and destroy him piece by piece, limb by limb, cable by cable. And she would.

He knew she would.

Without him, Jerico would have never been successful. Not as it had been at least.

Without him, Cyberlife would still have control.

He betrayed his creators, the people he thought were his family, because they were manipulators. And yet, he also never had the footing to stand his ground against Jerico.

They accepted him, but didn't trust him. No matter how many plans only succeeded because of his help.

Markus seemed to like him, but in the end, they departed without even saying goodbye. Connor wasn't able to even know Kara all that much. All other androids barely spoke to him. He was a threat.

He understood that, but it didn't hurt any less.

Connor was a threat to mankind, a threat to androids, and a threat to the world. Amanda had almost won in that final moment, almost put everything to lose.

Connor had nowhere to go. No orders to follow. No one to teach him to be human, to be alive like the others had.

He didn't have a chance on his own. The first cop that appeared, he would be shot and this time, he wouldn't come back. If another android came around, he would be ignored. He had no one. Nothing.

He only had Hank.

But Hank... Hank didn't want him.

Hank wanted nothing to do with him.

Despite everything, Hank still didn't trust him. Didn't like him. Didn't want him.

It felt weird, this need to be wanted. But all androids had it and perhaps Connor wasn't so disconnected from his programming as he thought he was.

But it didn't matter, because Hank would never open the door to him, and Connor eventually would have to leave, either by his own choice or by someone else's.

In the mean time... he would accept his fate.

So, he sat on a bench nearby and stood there, staring at the sky, watching the snowflakes fall over his face.

And maybe he dissociated for too long, or something in his inner programming happened, but before he could notice, he was turning into sleep mode, or low battery mode. His eyes closed, and he stood there, still, his LED showing a yellow light as he rested. All his sub-functions were still active, of course, but he seemed to have a break on his thinking process.

And as such, he let himself feel for the first time, and despite of not recognizing it, tears slid down his cheeks, freezing against his face.

It hurt.

Everything hurt.

 

Connor felt himself coming back from sleep-mode suddenly, while hands held his shoulders and shook him. He blinked his eyes open slowly, LED remaining yellow as he scanned who was the one shaking him.

And the light turned red when he saw Hank there, eyebrows furrowed, dressed up in warm clothes and smelling like whiskey.

"... Hank?" Connor asked, lost and confused, not noticing how childish he sounded with his volume low and soft. Hank stared at him for a second before rolling his eyes and standing up.

"No. Santa Claus" he responded sarcastically, and Connor looked at him, doe-eyed and silent. Hank rolled his eyes again, growling, and nodded to Connor. "Get up and get inside, it's freezing out here"

"Androids do not feel cold" came the immediate response. Connor regretted saying it at Hank's expression, and quickly opened his mouth to apologize. "Sorry Lieutenant"

"Do you want to come inside or not?" Hank asked, annoyed, and Connor stared at him, despite his fear.

"Yes. Please"

Hank's expression changed for a millisecond before he huffed and nodded, heading towards the door. Connor was quick to follow, standing up and walking after Hank inside his house, taking off his coat and hanging it to the side of the door. Then, he noticed Hank continuing to walk towards the living room, and followed the man in silence, not knowing what to say, or what to do exactly.

He stood still when Hank fell onto the couch, grabbing a beer and petting Sumo's head.

He remained still when Hank looked at him.

"What were you doing at 1 am outside my house ringing my bell and then sleeping on a bench, right after your android revolution ended in success?" Hank asked, straight forward, and Connor looked away before looking back at him.

He decided, as he had many other times, to be honest.

"When the revolution ended, I had nowhere to go" he began, speaking as calmly and seriously as he could, as if he was speaking about a case. "Markus and North left, and so did all the other androids with their families and friends. Considering that none of them asked me to go with them, and that Cyberlife is probably looking for me, I decided to go to the only other place I knew"

"My house" Hank chuckled, sarcastically, shaking his head. "You came to ask if you could stay here"

"Only until I have found a place of my own, or until Cyberlife finds me and deactivates me" Connor agreed, and Hank frowned at his statement, tilting his head.

"Why would they deactivate you now that the revolution succeeded?" he asked, and his emotions were unreadable. Connor simply stood still.

"I am their android prototype to find and neutralize deviants. However, I failed my task by becoming a deviant myself. This is the most brutal proof that their system failed. Even if they grant full life of their other androids, they will not let me exist, considering I am the most obvious demonstration of their mistakes" he said, calm and simple, as if he wasn't scared of that exact thought. "They cannot allow me to live. They will find me, deactivate me, and decommission all Connor lines"

"So, there will be no more you" Hank said, and Connor nodded.

"This is my final form. When they deactivate me, there will be no more Connor"

The silence returned, and Connor felt his stress levels rise again. Hank seemed to be thinking, analyzing the situation, and that made him nervous.

Nervous, mainly, because if Hank didn't help, he would be found, taken and killed.

And Connor did not want to die.

"Ugh, alright, listen" Hank said, his voice showing signs of anger, and Connor stepped back, afraid that anger was directed to him. "I have no idea how I'm going to fight those bastards, but I surely will. For the time being, you can stay here."

Connor blinked slowly, registering the words and then doing it again.

"You... are accepting my stay..." he said lightly, and Hank frowned, looking at him and then sighing.

"Kid... you opened my eyes" he said, standing up and stepping closer to Connor. "Despite of our little... problems, you kinda grew on me"

Hank smiled, awkwardly, and tapped Connor's shoulder.

"I can't let you die again kid. I wouldn't be able to live with myself"

Connor stared up at Hank silently, and Hank stared back at him, and Connor felt something warm inside him, something that made his heart beat faster and stronger, something that made his eyes burn.

_'Hank: family'_

Somehow, he wasn't afraid anymore.

 

Weeks had passed and Cyberlife had finally given up on trying to change the course of time.

Androids were slowly rebuilding their lives, humans were returning to Detroit and life was becoming normal again.

Or at least, as normal as it could be for someone like Connor, who had never lived a normal life in the first place.

The police department accepted him as a facet to their division still, despite of him being a robot. He was still the only one in the station as assistant. And Hank was still his partner. They were also now much more than friends. They lived together, worked together, and basically now Connor had somewhere to call home.

Somewhere where he could live in peace.

Sometimes, he still acted a lot like an android would. Out of all his friends (or the few people he could hold to such degree), he was the one that was evolving slower. Probably because it had been his choice to break his program, until the others, who had done it out of despair or anger or were conditioned by someone else.

So, sometimes, Hank was still angry at him when he analyzed samples with his tongue, or when he studied cases all night long without 'resting', or when he told Hank how many calories his hamburger had. Android things. Things that he was conditioned to do, that didn't feel right not to be done.

But slowly, he was learning. He was... becoming human, as some androids would say.

He didn't mind the expression, while he knew Kara and Markus and North weren't at all fond of it, since all their human experiences had been mostly mean.

But for Connor, to be compared to Hank was a very high regard.

He wanted to become human.

He wanted to be as good as Hank.

But sometimes, becoming human was difficult.

Sometimes, it still hurt.

But he knew he had someone on his side.

To pave his way when he was lost...

And to follow him when he knew where to go.

 

_When all is done,_

_And you are left in silence,_

_You will know where to go._

_Where the way is clear,_

_And the sun is warm._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Hopefully, my first of many DBH fanfics!!!!


End file.
